The fourth annual Serious Play Conference will be held at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles Tuesday – Thursday, July 22 – 24, 2014. Games are revolutionizing the way we learn, and this conference gives game industry luminaries, enthusiasts and academic leaders the opportunity to discuss the use of games in the education, healthcare, military, government, corporate and nonprofit sectors.

LOS ANGELES – March 12, 2014 – The Serious Play Conference, a gathering of game industry luminaries and game-based learning enthusiasts, is moving to University of Southern California (USC)’s School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, July 22-24.

Now its 4th year, the annual conference brings together school leaders who want to see game-based learning brought into more educational curriculums; chief learning officers from the corporate sector; and training directors from nonprofit, healthcare and the military/government -- along with the top games publishers, researchers and developers. The conference focuses on the use of games as a tool to promote engagement, retention and higher achievement in education, talent development and training programs.

Research has shown games can stimulate cognitive learning, evaluate a manager’s appetite for risk and make many forms of training more successful.

“Game-based learning is demonstrating that the addictive nature of game play, which includes challenges and competition, can be much more engaging as well as be a more effective and economical way to do training in almost any industry,” said Sue Bohle, Executive Director, Serious Games Association.

At the conference, leaders share their thoughts on setting learning objectives, measurement, and effective use of games in the classroom, corporate or organizational environment.

From 2011–2013, the Serious Play Conference was held at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash. USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering is co-hosting the 2014 event with the USC School of Cinematic Arts.